Evil On The Inside, Pure On The Outside
by Skye410
Summary: A baby girl is found and raised by Team Magma, she grows up as a criminal but meets a group of Trainers who give her a change of heart. Now against Team Magma, how can her and her friends stop the plans to awaken Groudon? Full summary inside, plz read :
1. Summary

**Evil On The Outside, Pure On The Inside**

**Summary:**

_As the conspiracy to one day awaken Groudon arises and Team Magma make their plans, one of their Pokémon, Mightyena, finds a baby girl just outside their secret hideout._

_They take in the baby and allow her to grow up as one of them, teaching young Tessa the ways of Team Magma. When Tessa becomes old enough to earn her very first Pokémon and is given a Vulpix, she soon shoots up the ranks as a Pokémon Trainer and is one of the very best bad-guy around; even better than her leader, Maxie._

_But after Tessa meets Tyler, Cassie, Cade, Karina and Kiren, trying to steal their Pokémon, what makes her decide to be a good-guy and abandon Team Magma; the people that raised her as their own and trainer her to be a Pokémon Trainer?_

_Now going up against Team Magma and sharing their plans of awakening Groudon, how can this new team of six stop this plan from going ahead?_

_Will Tessa be enough to guide her team into danger in order to try and save the world? Will they fail and watch the world crumble beneath their feet? How can they stop Team Magma from taking over the world with the opposing Team Aqua against them?_


	2. The TroubleMakers First Assignment

"Maxie, we need to make these plans as soon as possible!"

"She's right! We can't delay this for much longer!"

"Silence!" the gathering crowd fell silent as their leader stood up on a high platform of earth. "We are working as fast as we can to complete our task, but we cannot do this for some years. We _must_ be patient!"

"But it's taking too long!" one voice objected. "Why can't we do this now!"

"Because it is dangerous," the leader spoke calmly.

"Maxie, if we wait any longer we will be found out!"

More protests were called out and Maxie waited quietly for them all to die down again.

He sighed. "We have to take the chance. If we rush into this, then our plans may fail."

Everyone was quiet, not prepared to protest against Maxie's word any longer.

"We must gather our information, get things prepared and find our target. Without our main prize, we cannot achieve our goal." With that, he turned and disappeared down a tunnel, leaving his comrades by themselves. Two people ran after him.

"Do you think we can really do this, Maxie?" the girl asked.

"Yes," Maxie nodded as they walked behind him, following him into his office. "We will complete this goal. I assure you both."

"It will take a long time," the guy bowed his head as Maxie turned to them. "That gives us time to prepare and train for the moment."

"Yes," Maxie nodded again. "And do what you can to spy on Team Aqua and report back what you find. It is important we find out their motives as well."

"Yes, Maxie," the two of them replied.

"Might! Mightyena!"

The three people turned to the door and saw a large dog-looking Pokémon with black and gray fur; it was Maxie's Pokémon, Mightyena. But it was carrying something in its jaws.

"Mightyena, what have you found?" Maxie asked as his Pokémon walked over to him.

Mightyena lifted his head and Maxie took the small bundle from it, holding it up.

The girl blinked. "What is it?"

Maxie looked at it, curious. Then it moved.

Mightyena sat down and let its tongue loll out of its mouth, wagging its tail and staring at the bundle.

Maxie put it down on his desk and took the cloth off it as it continued to move, the other two people stood on either side of him and looked down at it. Their faces turned pale as they saw what the cloth had hidden.

A baby girl was lying on her back, swinging her arms and legs around her, looking around with her hazel eyes, her short brown hair half in her face.

"Why did Mightyena bring back a baby?" the guy asked.

Maxie turned to Mightyena. "Well?"

Mightyena tilted its head to the side. "Might, Mightyena! Might, Might!"

"Was it alone?" Maxie asked.

Mightyena nodded. "Might!"

Maxie turned back to the baby and sighed.

"What should we do with her?" the girl asked.

"We'll keep her," Maxie decided. "If she was alone then she has no other chance if we abandon her." He turned to the girl. "You can keep her, Belle."

She blinked. "Really?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"Thank you, Maxie," she smiled and picked up the baby in her arms, holding her close.

"You have always wanted a child," the other man chuckled.

She nodded and looked down at the baby. "I'm going to call her Teresa; Tessa for short."

"Mightyena!" Mightyena barked with a smile.

Maxie looked down at Tessa, throwing her arms around and laughing. "She could be a great addition to our plans. I think she'll grow up to be a great Pokémon Trainer of Team Magma."

*.*.*

"Tessa, are you awake?"

Belle walked into the room, slowly opening the door and peering around it. She looked at Tessa's bed and saw that it was empty.

"Tessa?" she murmured, walking into the room, looking around. Tessa was nowhere to be seen.

"TESSA!"

Belle sighed and shook her head before going back to the door. She blinked as she saw a Poochyena run past the door, and then Tessa ran after it.

"TESSA GET BACK HERE!"

Bella looked to the right where she saw another person, Dominique. He stopped in front of her. "Dominique? What's the matter?"

"Tessa is being mischievous again!" he growled. "Playing in the technology room and getting the Zubat to use Supersonic on us when we try to catch her so she can get away!"

Bella shook her head. "She's always getting herself into trouble..."

He nodded. "So if you'll excuse me; I have a trouble-maker to catch." He ran in the direction Tessa took.

Tessa laughed as she ran through the cave with Mike's Poochyena at her side. "That was wicked! I never thought that many Zubat could have such a strong combined attack!"

"Pooch! Poochyena!"Poochyena barked with agreement.

She smiled down at Poochyena but then suddenly crashed into something and she fell back, hitting the ground.

"Ow!" she whined. "What was that-" she looked up and blinked before smiling innocently. "Oh, hi, Jason."

"Get up, now," he said sternly. "You're in big trouble."

"Aw, but..." she mumbled.

"Up. Now," he growled.

Tessa sighed and stood up, looking up at Jason. "I didn't mean it, I swear. I just wanted to get out of trouble for being in that room..."

"I know," he nodded. "But it's not me you have to apologize to."

"Well, if you can't catch me then I don't have to apologize to anybody else," she grinned. "Poochyena, hold him for me."

"Tessa-"

But it was too late; Poochyena gently bit down on Jason's leg and held him while Tessa ran around him and bolted down the cave hall. "Sucker!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"TESSA!"

Tessa laughed and headed for the entrance to the Team Magma hideout so she could get out and hide from Jason and Dominique so she wouldn't be caught.

_But I have to come back eventually_, she sighed at the thought.

She turned down a tunnel and saw the entrance, but then two shapes jumped out in front of it and she skidded to a stop, falling back in front of them.

"Oh crap," she groaned, looking up at Maxie's and Dominique's Mightyena's.

"Might!" Maxie's Mightyena barked at her angrily.

"I'm sorry!" she whined. "I won't do it again!"

But Dominique's Mightyena grabbed her by the shirt and lifted her up, carrying her back the other way, the other one followed closely.

They took her back to the technology room where Jason, Dominique, Maxie, Belle and a few other Team Magma people were waiting with their arms crossed.

Dominique's Mightyena dropped her on the floor in front of them and she grinned up at them innocently, but on the inside she was shaking with fear.

Maxie stepped forward. "Thank you, Mightyena." He glared down at Tessa. "What were you _thinking_ coming in here and playing around? Do you realize that you could have destroyed everything we have been working towards?"

"I'm sorry," she hung her head. "I didn't mean it!"

"I'm sure you didn't," he scowled.

"I'm just so bored being cooped up in here all the time!" she moaned. "I want to go out and do what you guys do!"

She saw a hint of amusement in Maxie's eyes. "So you want to be a criminal already, huh?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I want to battle Team Aqua scum and beat them so we can expand the land without them in our way!"

Maxie chuckled. "Well at least we know where your loyalty lies," then he became stern again. "And, you _were_ going to get that chance because I _was_ going to give you your first Pokémon today. But after what you've done..."

"No!" she jumped to her feet. "I'm so, so sorry! I swear I won't do it again! Please, Maxie!"

"Well..." he thought for a moment.

"Please!" Tessa cupped her hands together. "If you give me the chance I won't disobey you again! I'll be a good girl! I'll listen to everything you tell me to do! I'll be the best criminal ever!"

Maxie was clearly entertained and he caved. "Fine. But don't screw this up or else."

"Okay!" she grinned. "Thank you so much!" she threw her arms around him and he rolled his eyes.

"Normally, Team Magma members aren't allowed to do that," he told her.

She drew back. "Sorry!"

He chuckled. "Come on, let's give you your first Pokémon."

She wanted to follow him, but her legs felt like they were frozen to the spot. Maxie didn't wait for her; he continued out the room and down a hall, the others besides Jason left the room and went different ways. The Mightyena left as well.

"What's the matter?" Jason whispered in her ear playfully. "All that talk and now you're too scared?"

"No!" she growled good naturedly. "I'm excited!"

"Then let's go," he took her hand and led her out of the room, following Maxie.

Tessa felt her cheeks burning. Jason was quite a few years older than her; she was 14 and he was 19, but she had a little crush on him and she was sure he felt the same. She looked up at him; he had black hair and was wearing a dark gray shirt, a red over shirt that reached his ribs with a black symbol on it and a hood with three black spikes on it, as well as red wrist warmers, black gloves, red leg warmers, black shoes, a red belt and dark gray three-quarter pants. Tessa wore the same, only she had a dark gray skirt that reached a little less than mid-thigh. What Jason wore was what all the men wore, and all the females wore the same but with the skirts. That was the Team Magma uniform. But Maxie wore a large jacket with black over the chest and a black left sleeve that reached his wrists, his other sleeve was red. It had red at the bottom of it and the Team Magma symbol on the left side of his jacket; it was really small. And he also wore black pants and black shoes.

He let go of her hand when they found Maxie waiting in another small room with shelves of books and tables everywhere with a few computers. He was standing in front of one table that had three Pokéballs on it.

"Like every normal, non-criminal trainer," he said as Tessa and Jason stood on the other side of the table. "You get to choose from three different Pokémon. But they're not the normal starter Pokémon."

"Well, what are they?" Tessa asked.

Maxie let them out of their Pokéballs and Tessa recognized a Zubat and a Poochyena, but her heart raced with excitement when she saw a Vulpix sitting on the table.

"You can choose one of these three," Maxie said.

Tessa looked at the three Pokémon; a Fire Type, a Dark Type and a Flying/Poison Type. She tried to think of which one would benefit her. She liked Vulpix but she had to think strategically.

Zubat had a strong Supersonic attack that could confuse people and Pokémon and its Poison Sting was super powerful. Poochyena was a strong Dark Type that had a strong Shadow Ball attack when it was at a higher level and had a nasty bite. Vulpix had super strong fire attacks like Fire Spin and Flamethrower and had a super fast Quick Attack. So which one would be a better choice?

Tessa thought about it for a moment longer and finally decided. "I'll take Vulpix," she smiled. Vulpix was her favorite and it was really strong.

"Very well then," Maxie returned the Zubat and Poochyena and handed her Vulpix's Pokéball. "Vulpix is yours. Take good care of it."

"I will," Tessa promised. "I swear it."

"Good," he nodded. "Jason, take her out and teach her the basics of battling. Then see if she can handle a Pokémon theft from the Pokémon Center."

"Okay," Jason nodded. "Come on, Tess."

Tessa smiled. "Coming," she loved it when Jason called her Tess. She had Tessa as her nickname for Teresa, but Tess was a name only Jason called her. "Return, Vulpix." She returned Vulpix into its Pokéball with a red beam of light from it.

She followed Jason out of the Team Magma hideout and he took her up towards the mountains where they could train.

"Alright," he said and faced her as she stood a few meters away. "This'll be your first proper battle. You already know how to call out the attacks so let's see you face up against another Trainer."

"This'll be a piece of cake," she grinned. She threw Vulpix's Pokéball. "Vulpix, come on out!"

Vulpix appeared in front of Tessa, its red fur sparkling in the sunlight as it shook its six tails. "Vul, Vulpix," it smiled.

"You won't call it a piece of cake once we get into it," he smirked and threw his own Pokéball. "Zubat! Let's go!"

A Zubat appeared in the air, flapping its purple and blue wings and its big ears twitching. Zubat didn't have a mouth but it still made some sort of weird noise as its way of communication.

"You ready?" Jason asked Tessa.

"You bet," she smiled. "Vulpix, this is our first battle so try your best."

"Vulpix, Vul, Vulpix!" Vulpix smiled.

"Okay, Zubat, let's show them your Wing Attack!" Jason called out.

Zubat flew down towards Vulpix with shining white wings.

"Vulpix, use Double Team!" Tessa ordered.

Vulpix nodded and clones of it appeared. Zubat straightened itself and looked at each of the five Vulpix clones, trying to figure out which one was the real one.

"Zubat, use Poison Sting on all of them!" Jason said.

Zubat shot many tiny needles out of its mouth at each of the clones, and when they were hit, they disappeared; leaving the real Vulpix vulnerable. The needles hit it and it was sent flying.

"Vulpix!" Tessa called.

"Still think it's a piece of cake, Tess?" Jason asked.

Tessa growled and Vulpix got back up. "We'll show you! Vulpix use Ember!"

Vulpix opened its mouth and balls of fire were shot up at Zubat.

"Agility," Jason said simply.

Zubat shot out of the way of the fire balls and appeared behind Vulpix.

"Now use Wing Attack!" Dominique ordered.

"Vulpix, behind you!" Tessa yelled, but it was too late; Zubat struck Vulpix and knocked it to the ground.

Vulpix tried to get up but struggled, tired.

"Vulpix, can you keep fighting?" Tessa asked.

"Vul," it nodded.

"No, that's enough," Jason returned his Zubat. "You've trained enough. Vulpix still needs to go through this assignment."

"Oh yeah," Tessa smiled. "Let's do it!"

"Vulpix!" Vulpix gained a bit more energy at the prospect of a challenge.

"Return, Vulpix," Tessa held out Vulpix's Pokéball and returned it before following Jason back down the mountain.

They reached the town and they headed for the Pokémon Center.

"Lavaridge Town is pretty," Tessa smiled.

"I've seen prettier," Jason smiled and looked down at the 14 year old.

"Pfft!" she snorted. "Me? Pretty? You're kidding."

"I'm serious," he laughed. "You are one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen."

"Pedophile," she muttered.

"Since when do you care?" he challenged.

"I don't," she smiled.

"Exactly," he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him but she giggled and got out of his hold.

"We have a task to do," she murmured. "And I have to do well otherwise I'll fail Maxie."

"I know," he sighed. "But you can lighten up a little bit. All we need to do is sneak into the Pokémon Center, take a few Pokémon, maybe battle our way out if we need to, then hand them back to Maxie."

"Probably sounds easier said than done," she whispered as people walked past them, looking at them suspiciously because of the matching uniforms.

"You'll get used to it once you've done it a fair few times," he said. "Because now you'll be doing jobs like these all the time."

"Awesome," she grinned.

They found the Pokémon Center and they snuck around the back, making sure nobody saw them.

"Alright," Jason whispered to Tessa as they found the back door. "You can't be seen at all otherwise it'll blow our cover and the cops will be here in a matter of minutes. Sneak in, find the room full of Pokéballs and test them out. If they have decent looking Pokémon, return them and get out of there."

"You're coming in with me aren't you?" she blinked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "But I have to watch your back. If I call out to run; run."

"Okay," she nodded in return.

"Let's go," he picked the lock on the back door and they snuck in.

Tessa stuck close to Jason and they checked every corner before crossing, ducking into the shadows when somebody was walking past and diving into rooms to stay hidden.

"Where's the room?" Tessa asked.

"We have to find it," he sighed.

"Then let's keep looking," she whispered and snuck back out of the room. They walked on silent footsteps, checking every room to find the one they were looking for.

"Lookout!" Jason whispered and pulled Tessa back, pulling her right into him and they fell through a door, it shut behind them.

Tessa squirmed in his arms and tried to talk but he covered her mouth. Tessa was lying on him and he held her close.

"Ssh!" he hissed at her and she finally heard the footsteps.

Her heart pounded as the footsteps got closer, she identified that there were more than one person or Pokémon.

"Let's put these Pokéballs in the Examination Room, Chansey," came a ladies voice and the footsteps stopped in front of the door.

"Come on!" Jason whispered and forced her to her feet. He pulled her under a desk that was covered at the back so they wouldn't be seen. He grabbed a Pokéball from his belt, just in case they needed to battle their way out like he said.

The door opened and Tessa shuffled a little closer to Jason, he put an arm around her to reassure her.

"Just be really quiet and we won't be found," he whispered in her ear and she nodded. She grabbed Vulpix's Pokéball just in case, too.

There were two sets of footsteps, Tessa recognized; a human and a Pokémon. She had done her studying whilst running away from her teammates after she caused trouble and they were looking for her; she was able to determine which footsteps were a humans and which belonged to a Pokémon.

The footsteps walked over to the other side of the room. "Where should we put the Pokéballs, Chansey?" the female human voice asked.

"Chansey!" the Pokémon replied in a happy tone.

"The woman is Nurse Joy," Jason quietly told her. "She's the one that takes care of most of the Pokémon. Her partner is Chansey; it's a nurse Pokémon so they're used in Pokémon Centers across every region." Tessa nodded, taking in the knowledge.

"Now I just need to put the data into the computer and we can go," Joy said and the footsteps approached the desk.

Tessa felt Jason's muscles tense and he pushed her to the other side of the desk, signaling for her to be quiet; he moved closer to the end of the desk.

Tessa nearly yelped when feet stopped at the desk and she peered just around the top of the desk to see a woman with pink hair tied up and a nurse hat on her head. She wore a pink dress with a white apron and pink shoes. She sat down on her chair and her legs moved under the desk, fully separating Tessa from Jason.

Tessa looked at him and he motioned to her to stay calm; he held up his Pokéball to remind her they may have to battle it out if they were caught. Tessa took a big calming breath and exhaled quietly. She peered around the top of the desk again and saw a Pokémon stand right in front of her in front of the desk. It was a round pink Pokémon with a pouch and a large egg in it.

"Chansey," it said as Joy started typing on her computer on the desk.

Tessa tried to calm her beating heart and grasped Vulpix's Pokéball to reassure herself, ready for a fight.

"Okay, Tauros and Magikarp are now in the database. We'll come back and check on them later," Joy murmured cheerfully. "Let's go, Chansey."

"Chansey!" it smiled and the two of them left the room.

Tessa remained where she was, listening as the footsteps became quieter and quieter.

Jason finally took a big breath and exhaled deeply before climbing out from under the desk. Tessa followed them, putting her Pokéball away.

"That was too close," Jason muttered. He looked at Tessa. "Are you okay, Tess?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I thought we were going to get caught."

"Me too," he agreed and looked around. "Looks like we found the room we were looking for."

Tessa looked around and saw shelves of Pokéballs all around the room. "That was lucky."

Jason smiled. "Okay, now we have to be quick. I'll watch for any more people while you check the Pokéballs for good Pokémon."

"Alright," Tessa replied and went straight to the shelves. Jason reached the door and peered out, checking for anybody.

Tessa looked at all the Pokéballs and quickly picked one. She threw it and a Poochyena appeared.

"Return it," Jason told her. "We already have plenty of Poochyena."

Tessa nodded and returned it, putting it back on the shelf. She grabbed another one and threw it; a Ditto appeared.

"We could use this one," Tessa smiled. "Ditto can transform into any Pokémon."

Jason nodded his head and Tessa returned it, putting the Pokéball to her belt so she wouldn't lose it. She looked at the other Pokéballs and took one from a higher shelf. "Let's see what's in this one," she murmured and threw it. It opened, but nothing came out of it.

"Some of the Pokéballs will be empty," Jason told her. "So don't be surprised."

"Okay," she took another one from the shelf and threw it, her eyes widened when she saw a Tauros standing tall. Tauros was a wild bull Pokémon that had a mean Horn Attack and a scary Take Down. It lashed its three tails and looked around.

"Keep that one," Jason smirked. "Maxie will appreciate a strong Pokémon like that."

Tessa returned it and put its Pokéball to her belt as well before grabbing another Pokéball.

"Incoming!" Jason shut the door. "Fast!"

He ran over to Tessa and they were about to head back to the desk but Nurse Joy burst into the room with Chansey.

"So the security cameras were right!" she growled. "Just what do you think you're doing trying to steal sick and injured Pokémon!"

"We're taking them for ourselves," Jason laughed. "And there's nothing you can do about it."

"Give back those Pokémon immediately or I'm calling the police!" Joy demanded.

"Sorry, lady," Jason took a Pokéball from his belt and threw it in the air, catching it and twirling it on his finger. "No-can-do."

"Chansey, use Pound!" Joy growled.

Chansey ran into the room at Jason and Tessa but the older boy pulled something out of his pocket; it was three little black balls connected to each other.

"Sorry to say this, but you're out of options," he threw it at Chansey and it opened up, a net appearing and landing on Chansey, pulling it to the floor.

"Wow," Tessa smiled as Chansey struggled in the net.

Nurse Joy turned to run. "And just where are you going?" Jason pulled out another one and threw it at her. It opened up into a net and fell on her, forcing her to the ground.

"You won't get away with this!" Joy said to him, trying to free herself.

"Well as the saying goes," he smirked. "I hate to break it to ya, but we just did. Come on, Tess."

Tessa nodded and they ran out of the room, leaving Nurse Joy and Chansey in the nets. They left the Pokémon Center from the front entrance and ran out of Lavaridge Town, beginning to hear the police sirens.

They made it back to the entrance to the Team Magma hideout and they pulled the boulder out of the way. They got inside and pulled the boulder back into place.

Tessa heard the sirens and shouts of people as they ran past the boulder, looking for her and Jason, but the two Team Magma trainers walked back into their hideout and found Maxie in his office.

"Ah, Jason and Tessa," Maxie smiled as they walked in. "I suspect your assignment went well?"

"Sort of," Jason murmured. "We got two Pokémon but then we got caught and had to get out of there quickly."

Maxie nodded. "Which two Pokémon did you steal?"

Tessa took the Pokéballs from her belt and walked forward, putting them on Maxie's desk in front of him. "A Ditto and a Tauros," she smiled before stepping back to stand beside Jason.

"Well done," Maxie praised them. "Tessa, your first assignment was a success. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Maxie," Tessa bowed her head.

"Rest now," Maxie told them both. "I will give you another task tomorrow."

"Yes, Maxie," they both said and left his office.

"So, now what?" Tessa murmured. "That was fun."

"I can think of something," Jason chuckled and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Pedophile," she muttered.

"I was joking," he insisted.

"Uh huh," she nodded. "Whatever."

"You don't believe me, do you?" he asked.

"Nope," she shook her head. "Not one bit." She stopped at her bedroom door. "You want to come in?"

He raised an eyebrow again. "You call me a pedophile and then you invite me into your room. Very normal."

"I don't have the same idea as you do," she snorted. "I was simply asking if you wanted to come in."

He shrugged. "Sure, okay."

Tessa held the door open for him and shut the door behind them. She turned around to face Jason but he gently pushed her against the door and pressed his lips against hers, locking the door while she wasn't paying attention.

She put her hands up on his chest and pushed him a few centimeters away from her. "Jason, no."

"What's the matter?" he asked. "I like you, you like me. What's the problem?"

"If Belle found out-"

"Belle can't mother you forever," he sighed. "She's not even your real mother, you know that."

"That's not the point," Tessa told him.

"Then what is?"

"Whether she's my real mother or not, she's still my mother."

"And?"

"She wouldn't like it if she found out about us."

"So now you say there's an 'us'," he smiled.

"Well that's clearly what it is," she muttered.

"Then don't worry about Belle," he told her. "What's she going to do about it?"

"Take away my Vulpix," Tessa considered it. "Ground me."

"She won't take Vulpix away from you," he murmured. "And being grounded won't do much."

"I guess so…" Tessa sighed.

"So," he took her hands away from his chest, "don't worry." He kissed her again, this time more firmly and he held her up against the door. Tessa decided to give in to it, erasing the thought of Belle finding out and she put his arms up around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

Jason broke away from her. "See? That's not so hard."

She smiled and shook her head. "Not really."

He smiled back at her and kissed her again.


	3. Battle On The Bridge

"Okay, Vulpix! Use Ember!"

Vulpix spat out balls of fire at the Skarmory and hit it directly, making it fall to the ground.

"Skarmory, get up and use Peck!" its Trainer ordered it, his hands clenching.

Skarmory got up slowly and flew towards Vulpix.

"Double Team," Tessa said simply.

Vulpix split into five different clones and Skarmory stopped, standing on the ground and looking at them, trying to figure out which one was the real Vulpix.

"Concentrate, Skarmory!" the boy called out. "Attack them all!"

Skarmory struck at the middle one but it disappeared.

"Vulpix, now use Double-Edge," Tessa smiled and crossed her arms calmly.

The clones disappeared and Vulpix showed up behind the big Steel Type Bird Pokémon. It jumped up at it, a white light shining behind it, and it slammed into Skarmory side-on, knocking it to the ground.

"Finish it off with Ember," Tessa commanded.

Vulpix spat balls of fire at Skarmory and injured it badly. Skarmory tried to get up but it couldn't.

The boy sighed and looked up at Tessa. "That was a great fight, and you're a really strong Trainer."

"I know," Tessa smiled. "And now I claim my prize."

The boy blinked. "What?"

Tessa pulled out the concealed net in the shape of three balls from her pocket and threw it at Skarmory. The net opened up and landed on it, holding it to the ground.

"What the…? You can't do that!" the boy growled and pulled out Skarmory's Pokéball. "Skarmory belongs to me!"

"Vulpix, Take Down attack," Tessa murmured.

Vulpix ran at the boy and slammed into him. The ball flew out of his hand and Tessa caught it, spinning it on one finger.

"Sorry kiddo," she grinned. "But Skarmory belongs to us now. Nighty-night."

The boy looked at her for a second before falling unconscious from the brutal attack by Vulpix.

"Skar!" Skarmory struggled in the net, although weakened from Vulpix.

"Sorry, Skarmory," Tessa added to the Pokémon. "But you're Team Magma's now." She held up its Pokéball and returned it. She put a casing over it and locked it as the Pokéball started to wobble; Skarmory was trying to get out. "With this casing over your Pokéball you can't escape. Stop trying." After a minute Skarmory gave up and Tessa put the Pokéball to her belt.

"Vulpix, Vul!" Vulpix smiled.

"Good job, Vulpix," Tessa told her Pokémon. "You did great. Rest up now; you deserve it," she returned Vulpix into its Pokéball before heading back to the Team Magma hideout, leaving the boy unconscious on the ground.

Tessa had been training for three months and she was now 15, her birthday being only a few days before. She had become an exceptional Trainer and Maxie was proud of her work.

"Karp, karp! Magikarp!"

"Huh?" Tessa blinked and looked around. "What was that?"

"Karp! Magikarp!"

She decided to go check it out and she headed through the trees until she found a small stream.

"Magikarp!"

She looked further upstream and saw a Pokémon struggling in the water. There was a rock in the water and a branch was wedged in a crack on it; a Magikarp caught in the branch.

"Poor thing," Tessa murmured and ran upstream towards it. "Hold on, little Pokémon! I'll rescue you."

Tessa walked into the water, realizing it only reached her hips in depth. She waded over to the Magikarp and picked it up out of the water, heading back towards the shore. She put it on the ground and sat in front of it, watching as it continued to flail.

"It's alright, Magikarp," she smiled. "You're safe now."

"Karp, karp, Magikarp!" it said, flailing.

"It looks young," she mumbled to herself. "And Magikarp aren't the best of swimmers at this age. It must have been separated from its friends when a stronger current carried it down here." She looked down at it. "I know. I'll let you come with me," she decided."And I'll make you stronger so you can rejoin your friends one day."

She pulled out a Pokéball and it opened up. A red beam of light came from it and engulfed Magikarp, sucking it into the ball and it closed again. The ball wobbled in her hand for a few moments before it stopped completely. She smiled; she had caught her very first Pokémon.

The ball Skarmory was in wobbled again and Tessa reminded herself she needed to get back to the hideout and give the ball to Maxie. She put Magikarp's Pokéball to her belt and she headed back to the hideout. When she returned, she went straight into Maxie's office.

"Maxie, I'm back," Tessa bowed her head as he looked at her.

"What have you done for me today, Tessa?" he asked.

Tessa took Skarmory's ball from her belt and put it on Maxie's desk. "I was battling this kid and he had a really strong Skarmory. I stole it from him and now I give it to you."

"Well done," Maxie smiled. "You've become quite the criminal."

"Thanks," she ducked her head. "Oh, and I caught a Magikarp too."

Maxie blinked at her. "A Magikarp?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "It was stuck so I rescued it and decided to catch it."

"A Magikarp is a worthless Pokémon," he sighed. "What use is it to us?"

"Well, I thought I could train it," she murmured. "It does evolve into Gyarados after all…"

Maxie shrugged. "It's your Pokémon. You can keep it if you want to."

"Thank you," Tessa smiled.

Suddenly, Jason, Dominique, Andrew, Melissa and Belle ran in. "Maxie!"

"What's the matter?" Maxie asked, standing up. Tessa turned around to face them.

"It's Team Aqua!" Melissa breathed. "They've stolen documents from our main base in Slateport City!"

"No!" Maxie growled. Tessa cringed; Maxie was scary when he was angry.

"Yes," Dominique nodded. "And the main base have requested back-up to get the documents back."

"What documents?" Maxie asked grudgingly.

"The ones involving Groudon," Jason reported, not even sparing a glance at Tessa. This was serious; there was no time to think about a love affair.

A shadow crossed over Maxie's face and Tessa risked a glance over her shoulder at him; he looked scarier than normal.

"The five of you can go," Maxie said icily. "Take the ship and get there as fast as you can."

"Can I go?" Tessa asked.

Maxie looked at her and she flinched away from the deadly look in his eyes. "This isn't just another battle. This is Team Aqua we're dealing with."

"And I've trained to face them," she murmured. "Please? I've waited a long time to battle them and now there's an opportunity."

"Tessa, this isn't the time to try and get involved," Belle scowled. "This is serious business-"

"But she's right," Jason piped up. "She has trained for this and she's a really good Trainer. We could use her abilities."

Tessa smiled up at him and the corners of his mouth twitched into a tiny smile.

"This isn't the time to argue," Andrew growled.

"Okay, Tessa, you may go," Maxie sighed. "But do _not_ screw up!"

"I won't, I promise," Tessa grinned. She could feel her heart racing at the thought of finally battling their arch enemies, Team Aqua.

"Go, now," Maxie ordered.

"Yes, sir," the older people nodded and ran out of the room, Tessa tore after them.

She ran beside Jason. "Thanks."

"No worries," he smiled down at her. "It wouldn't be any fun without you."

She glowed with pride and ran with them deeper into their hideout where they found the ship. It was a huge ship hidden underground where nobody would find it.

They boarded the ship and went straight into the controls room. Belle and Dominique started up the ship while Melissa pressed some other buttons.

Tessa looked out the window and looked at the roof. "So, how exactly are we getting the ship out of here?"

"You'll see," Melissa smiled and pressed another button. Suddenly, the roof opened up.

Tessa blinked. "No way!"

Melissa and Jason laughed as Tessa stared in awe of the roof opening up. She thought it was just normal rock and earth; but clearly not.

Belle and Dominique controlled the ship and as it powered up, it started to move. Before Tessa knew it, they were in the air and out of the cave. She sat in front of the window the whole time, staring down at the world below.

A low beeping sound started up and Tessa looked over her shoulder to where Dominique sat in his chair, a red light blinking on the armrest. Dominique pressed a button and a screen came down at the window, Tessa shuffled back so that the screen could reach the ground and some people appeared on the screen, all wearing the same Team Magma uniform.

"Amy, what is the problem?" Dominique asked the woman standing closest on the screen.

"Team Aqua have tried to escape on a cruise ship they stole with the documents," the brunette woman said. "But the ship has run out of power and now they're stuck just off the coast of Slateport City. How long until you arrive?"

"Fifteen minutes at the most," Belle told her.

"Good," Amy nodded. "We will wait for you before we head out to the ship- Why is a child with you?"

Tessa blinked up at the screen and saw Amy staring at her.

"That is Tessa," Dominique explained. "She's an exceptional Trainer and has carried out many duties for Maxie for three months now. She will be a great addition to the team, I promise."

"Very well," she nodded. "I will see you when you get here." The screen went black and it rose up again so they could see out the window once more.

"You'd better be a great addition to the team," Dominique scowled.

Tessa lay on her back and looked upside down at Dominique. "You doubt my abilities?"

"You're a child!" he muttered.

"So? You're old," she mumbled in a monotone voice. "I could beat you any day of the week."

Dominique scowled at her again and turned his head away. "Just don't let us down."

"Okay," she smiled and sat up, shuffling back over to the window. Up ahead she could see a city with a beach on the other side of it with a large expanse of ocean past it. She scrunched her nose up at the ocean.

"That's Slateport City," Jason told Tessa.

"And that must be the ship Team Aqua stole," Tessa pointed out to the ocean where a large cruise ship was, it wasn't moving at all.

"Probably," Andrew muttered.

They landed the ship out into the forest where nobody would find it, hopefully, and Tessa followed her comrades into Slateport City where they reached a tall building. They went inside and Tessa was surprised to see so many Team Magma people rushing around.

A group of four Team Magma people rushed over to the newcomers and Tessa saw a boy around her age among them. Amy was at the front.

"We're so glad to see you," she sighed. "Can we please hurry?"

"Of course," Dominique nodded and the two groups became one as Amy led them all through Slateport City and over to the beach where a decent sized boat was. They boarded it quickly and moved off the shore.

"I was told someone unexpected was coming," the younger boy chuckled and he looked at Tessa who sat on the floor, her stomach churning with discomfort. "But I wasn't expecting a _kid_."

"Brandon!" Amy hissed.

Tessa forgot about her seasickness and jumped to her feet, half losing her balance from the waves. "Who are you calling a kid!" she yelled at the boy, Brandon. "You're not much older than me!"

He snorted and crossed his arms, rudely pointing his nose in the air. "I'm clearly more skilled than you as a Pokémon Trainer. I'm located in the main base whereas you only stay at one of the hideouts with Maxie. I was borne into Team Magma, you weren't."

Tessa growled. "I may not have been born as a Team Magma member, but at least I'm not a snobby little brat like you!" she shot back at him.

"I'll show you!" he raised a fist. Tessa mirrored him and they each threw their fists forward.

"That's enough!" Jason grabbed Tessa around the waist and picked her up, pulling her away from Brandon. Amy grabbed Brandon and pulled him back by the shoulder.

Tessa swung her arms and squirmed in Jason's arms. "Let me go! I'll knock him out!"

"Your enemy is Team Aqua, not a fellow comrade," Jason told her.

"I don't care," she growled but stopped struggling. "He's not comrade of mine."

"The feeling is mutual," Brandon smirked.

Tessa snarled at him and Jason sighed.

"Go to the front of the ship!" Amy yelled at Brandon. He nodded and waved to Tessa before walking off. Tessa gave him the finger before he disappeared out of sight.

"Sorry about that," Amy said to Tessa. "He is a little bit cocky."

"A little?" Tessa snorted. "How about a lot."

Jason put her back on her feet and she relaxed, but then became tense again when she looked up and saw Dominique glaring her down.

"Uh oh," she mumbled.

"What the hell are you thinking!" he yelled at her. "You disgrace Maxie's decision to let you come by trying to fight a comrade! Once Maxie hears about this you will never come on something like this again!"

Tessa sighed as he walked away and she sat down again, her stomach churning once more.

"You okay?" Jason sat beside her.

"I feel sick," she mumbled.

"Seasick?" he asked. She nodded.

Amy looked at the two of them, eyebrows raised, before she walked over to where Brandon went.

Eventually, they caught up to where the cruise ship was; it was huge!

"Alright," Amy told the group. "There will be Team Aqua everywhere. Our main goal is to find Archie and get those documents back. Understand?"

"Yes," they all nodded.

_Archie_, Tessa thought. _The Team Aqua leader_…

They climbed aboard the ship and they all split up. Tessa snuck around the ship, checking around every corner before turning around it. She moved with her back to the wall as she neared a corner and she peered around it. She blinked when she saw two Team Aqua men, a Poochyena at their side. Their uniforms looked horrid. They wore blue pants with white circles on the sides, black shoes, black and white striped shirts, black gloves and blue bandannas with the Team Aqua symbol on it.

"So that's what Team Aqua look like," she whispered to herself.

She flinched when she saw their Poochyena raise its head. It sniffed the air and looked in her direction, spotting her. "Poochyena! Pooch, Poochyena!" it barked.

The two men saw Tessa and she quickly ducked back around the corner, turning to run, but she was faced with another Team Aqua guy. She backed up closer to the railings of the ship and she looked over her shoulder at the water. She turned back and saw the three men a few feet away from her, the Poochyena snarling at her.

"So Team Magma brought a kid with them," one of them laughed. "How pitiful that Maxie couldn't send proper Magma scum."

Tessa growled. "The only scum around here is Team Aqua!" her blood boiled at the insult they shot at her and she was determined to show them wrong. "I'm stronger than you think!"

"Oh yeah?" the black-haired one smirked. "Let's see." He threw a Pokéball. "Huntail, up and at ém!"

"Huntail?" Tessa blinked but the Pokémon appeared. It looked like a snake with a sharp tail. It was blue with orange markings on it and a huge orange fin on its head. Its teeth was what scared Tessa the most.

"Chinchou!" the brunette-boy threw his own Pokéball and a purple Pokémon with large antennas with yellow bulbs at the end and big yellow eyes with crosses on them appeared.

"Poochyena, get in there," the red-headed man said and the Poochyena ran forward to stand with the other Pokémon.

Tessa stared at the three Pokémon, surely Vulpix couldn't fight all three? She growled and clenched her fists. _I've trained for this_! She thought. _I can't back down now_!

She grabbed Vulpix's Pokéball. _Magikarp is out of the question_, she thought. _So it's all up to Vulpix_. She threw the Pokéball. "Vulpix, I need you!"

Vulpix appeared and faced the three Pokémon, its red fur bristling.

"Ha ha ha!" the red-head laughed. "A Vulpix! This is going to be easier than I thought!"

Tessa growled. "Vulpix, use Double-Edge!"

Vulpix ran at Poochyena, a white light shining behind it.

"Poochyena, dodge and use Bite," the red-head smiled.

Poochyena swerved around Vulpix's attack and bit down on its tail.

"Vul!" it cried.

"Vulpix!" Tessa called.

"Chinchou, use Thunder Wave," the brunette-boy ordered.

Poochyena jumped out of the way as Chinchou shot a bolt of lightning at Vulpix.

"Double Team!" Tessa commanded.

Vulpix split into five and the lightning attack hit a clone, making it disappear.

"Oh, very nice," the black-haired guy smiled. "But not good enough. Huntail, use Crunch!"

Huntail struck forward and bit down on one of the Vulpix's; but the clones disappeared as the real Vulpix cried out in pain, Huntail showed no signs of letting go of its leg.

"But, how?" Tessa blinked.

"My dear, Huntail has amazing eyesight," the black-haired Team Aqua guy chuckled. "Your cheap Double Team trick won't work for you here."

"Oh no," Tessa murmured and looked at Vulpix as Huntail knocked it to the ground.

"Thunder Wave," the brunette-boy ordered his Chinchou.

Chinchou fired another bolt of lightning and it struck Vulpix.

"Vulpix!" it cried out and tried to move, but it couldn't. Thunder Wave had paralyzed it.

"Now, my dear," the black-haired boy smirked. "You should come with us."

"No way!" she growled.

"Poochyena, Take Down," the red-head sighed.

Suddenly, Poochyena ran into Tessa and knocked her against the railings but she fell back to the ground, the world turning black.

*.*.*

"Crawdaunt, use Crabhammer!"

Jason watched as his Crawdaunt slammed its massive claw down on the Team Aqua guy's Poochyena.

The Team Aqua Grunt growled and returned his Poochyena before retreating.

"Jason!"

Jason looked over his shoulder and saw Melissa running over to him with her Cacturne at her side. "Have you seen Tessa?"

"No," he shook his head and his Crawdaunt walked over to him. "Why?"

"Me and Bella have checked everywhere," Melissa murmured. "We can't find her."

Jason's heart skipped a beat. "No way!"

"I'm afraid so," she nodded.

"Where would she be?" Jason said.

"We don't know," Melissa shrugged. "She might have been caught by Team Aqua and thrown overboard or they might have captured her to use her as a way to make us think twice."

Jason growled. "Damn them!" he turned to his Pokémon. "Crawdaunt, we have to go find Tessa."

"Crawdaunt!" it nodded.

"Good luck," Melissa sighed and Jason ran off with Crawdaunt following closely.

_Why would they take Tessa? She's just a kid_! Jason thought. Then his mind snapped. _Of course, that's why they might have captured her… She's a kid, and we all care about her. If they intend to use her in order to make us retreat… how many of us will put Tessa's life in danger to get those documents back_? A shadow crossed his face as he considered the possibilities. He wouldn't risk her life because he loved her, but Team Magma had been working on the plan to awaken Groudon for years. There would be no doubt the others would sacrifice Tessa for those documents.

But then he couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of them capturing her. _If they do have her, I can just imagine how much they're going to regret it when she gives them headaches_.

*.*.*

"Ow, my head…" Tessa mumbled as she slowly blinked open her eyes. She held her head as it started pulsing from the pain. She looked around. "Where am I?"

"You're on the bridge," came a voice and she looked up to see a man wearing a black suit with a white undershirt and a blue bandanna on his head with the Team Aqua symbol. "My men brought you here." She saw more Team Aqua people standing around her. The girls wore the same as the boys, but their shirts were shorter and showed their stomachs.

"Vul!"

Tessa looked over to a desk where she saw her Vulpix in a cage.

"Vulpix!" she got to her feet in a second and faced the man in the black suit. "Who the heck are you and what do you want with me?"

"Me? I am Archie," he chuckled. "The leader of Team Aqua."

Tessa's eyes widened. She was face-to-face with the leader of Team Aqua.

"And as for what I want with you," he added. "Is to use you as a ransom to get rid of your comrades."

"They won't fall for it," Tessa growled. "They need those documents and they'll do anything to get them back."

"Even if it means letting you die?" Archie tilted his head to the side.

"I'm willing to let them take that risk," she nodded, but in her head she was debating about that.

"Brave young girl," Archie laughed. "You would do better on our team."

"Me? Join Team Aqua?" she blinked. "Pfft! Get real!" she crossed her arms. She glanced at Vulpix before turning back to Archie. "If I were a Pokémon I'd use an _Ember_ attack on you to show just how stupid that idea is!"

Vulpix seemed to understand what she said. Nobody noticed as Vulpix quietly used its Ember attack on the metal bars, burning them and making them really hot.

"Such emphasis," Archie raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were ordering your Pokémon to use an attack."

Tessa gasped. He was smart.

One of the Team Aqua girls that had a Crawdaunt by her side turned to look at Vulpix. "It's trying to burn the bars! Crawdaunt, use Bubble!"

Tessa smirked as Crawdaunt shot bubbles from its claws and it hit the bars, making them really wet and making steam rise up from them. _Archie might be smart, but that doesn't mean they all are_, Tessa thought.

"Now, Vulpix!" Tessa called. "Use Double-Edge!"

Vulpix slammed against the bars and they broke, allowing Vulpix to jump to the ground.

The girl turned to Tessa. "Why you- Archie!"

Archie turned to Tessa but she slammed into him, knocking him over. She rolled on the ground and stood up, backing towards Vulpix.

"That was a dirty trick!" Archie growled and stood up, wincing from the pain in his stomach.

Tessa smiled. "I guess you're not that smart after all." She looked to her side and blinked when she saw some papers in a plastic sleeve, closed up so nothing could get it wet or damaged. On the top it said "**Team Magma's Plans To Awaken Groudon**". It was the documents Team Aqua stole!

Tessa thought for a minute and looked over her shoulder to where the window was. "Vulpix, use Ember on the window."

Vulpix jumped up onto the table and shot balls of fire at the glass. It melted away and Tessa grabbed the documents.

"No!" Archie growled. "Grab her!"

"Vulpix, return!" Tessa quickly returned her Pokémon into its Pokéball. The red-headed guy from before went to grab her but she jumped up onto the desk and ran across it, jumping through the window. "Later, suckers!" she called and ran off.

"After her!" Archie yelled.

"Yes, sir!" they said and jumped out the window in pursuit of Tessa.

Tessa ran around the ship, looking for any of her comrades but had no luck. _Where is everybody_? She thought and looked over her shoulder to see the Team Aqua people running after her.

She rounded a corner but skidded to a stop when she saw a hostile-looking Mightyena, clearly not one of Team Magma's.

She backed up but the Team Aqua people caught up to her and grabbed her.

"Tessa!" she looked up and saw Jason and the others running over to her with their Pokémon with them.

"Guys!" Tessa called out.

"Stop!" Archie yelled as he approached. "Or else the girl, and the documents, sleep with the Sharpedo!"

Tessa's comrades stopped at once and looked at the documents in Tessa's hands.

Archie looked at a Crawdaunt on his team and nodded to it. Crawdaunt nodded in return and grabbed Tessa's ankle with its claws and lifted her up, holding her over the side of the boat.

"Tessa!" Jason exclaimed.

Tessa yelped as she looked down at the ocean, she already saw a few Sharpedo swimming around. But she had to hold her skirt considering she was upside down.

"Retreat now or lose both your precious items," Archie laughed.

Tessa looked at the documents in the moderately heavy plastic sleeve. Three months ago she nearly destroyed precious information back at the hideout, but what she was holding was from the main base; meaning it was crucially vital to Team Magma's plans. Losing these documents meant everything going down the drain.

"What'll it be?" Archie asked Tessa's comrades.

They didn't say a thing; they didn't know what to do.

Tessa growled as Crawdaunt increased its grip on her ankle and she tried not to cry out with pain. She knew they would drop her, but she had to get the documents back to Jason.

When she was younger she used to play Frisbee with Mike's Poochyena all the time and she had developed a perfect aim. She needed to use that now. But could she do it?

She took a deep breath. "Jason!" she called. "Catch!"

"What!" Archie exclaimed as Tessa took her aim and used all her strength to throw the plastic sleeve with the documents towards Jason. He caught it and smiled.

"Good shot!" he called.

Archie growled. "Crawdaunt, drop her!"

"No!" Jason yelled but Crawdaunt let go of her ankle.

Tessa screamed as she plunged from the huge cruise ship down towards the waiting Sharpedo. She was sure she was going to die, but at least she got the documents back to Jason and the others. That's all that really mattered.


End file.
